Social Media and Health Care: how healthcare professionals can – and should – join in

Social Media and Health Care: how healthcare professionals can – and should – join in

Social Media and Health Care: how healthcare professionals can – and should – join in (#104)

Renza Scibilia ¹

Diabetes Australia - Vic, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Social media (SoMe) has slowly but surely infiltrated diabetes healthcare. Increasing numbers of people with diabetes are using SoMe platforms to gather information, connect with others living with the same health condition and liaise with their healthcare team. In Australia, consumers have embraced this technology, but healthcare professionals have been reluctant to introduce SoMe into their arsenal of diabetes support tools.

The Diabetes Online Community (DOC) uses SoMe platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Hangouts, portals and forums to engage people from all over the world. Weekly twitter chats attract a global audience of participants and provide real-time discussions about real-life with diabetes.

The Australian community has grown significantly over the last 12 months with the introduction of a small, but well-regarded and vocal blogging community, and the development of the Australian Diabetes Online Community (OzDOC) which now hosts weekly chats on Twitter about all things diabetes. The lack of geographical and social boundaries means this community is truly representative of people with diabetes across the country and is reaching people who previously have felt isolated and ignored by more traditional means of communication.

Healthcare professionals have a place in the SoMe fabric as participants in the discussion and listeners to the agenda set by consumers. People with diabetes would welcome and support the engagement of healthcare professionals in SoMe and are looking at how new platforms can be used to engage with their healthcare team. Rather than being suspicious of and reluctant to use new technologies, now is the time to get involved and work with consumers to safely navigate the online diabetes world.

@ADSADEA

Authors contributing to this presentation.

Scibilia, R

Renza Scibilia has lived with type 1 diabetes since April 1998. She is a well-known consumer advocate and peer leader for people with diabetes and promotes a patient-centred approach to healthcare, and in the development of diabetes information, resources and technologies. Since 2001, Renza has worked at Diabetes Australia – Vic. She manages the Community and Consumer Engagement Programs which provide support, information and peer connections for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and their families. Renza is the National Program Leader for Youth and Type 1 Diabetes programs at Diabetes Australia Ltd. Renza is an active and well-known member of the global diabetes online community (DOC). She co-founded the #OzDOC community which is specifically for people with diabetes living in Australia. She is well-versed in social media, its influence on people living with chronic health conditions and its application in diabetes peer support. Renza is the creator and author of her own diabetes blog which she uses as a platform to identify and write about issues of interest to people living with diabetes. The blog, Diabetogenic (www.diabetogenic.wordpress.com), has received awards for excellence in diabetes writing and is one of Australia’s most widely-read patient blogs. In 2012 and 2013 Renza was invited to attend and present at the European Diabetes Bloggers Summit at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting to discuss how diabetes online communications are being used to improve consumer engagement in Australia. In June 2013, Renza was an invited speaker at the Doctors 2.0 and You 2013 conference in Paris and presented on the challenges of addressing the needs of consumers, HCPs and industry when using social media platforms. In November 2012 as part of her work at DA–Vic, Renza coordinated and facilitated Australia’s first Diabetes Social Media Summit which brought together diabetes social media leaders. This highly successful event identified the key issues facing people with diabetes in Australia and provided strategies for how social media could be used to drive the agenda and promote the needs of individuals. Renza was the consumer representative for the NHMRC Type 1 Diabetes Guidelines working party.

Social Media and Health Care: how healthcare professionals can – and should – join in (#104)

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